
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, February 22, 1995                   TAG: 9502230015
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A7   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: TALLAHASSEE, FLA.                                 LENGTH: Medium

FLORIDA TARGETS TOBACCO

Gov. Lawton Chiles filed a billion-dollar landmark lawsuit Tuesday against the nation's cigarette makers, saying they must pay the health care costs of welfare recipients sickened by smoking.

The lawsuit seeks at least $1.43 billion in damages from 21 cigarette makers, including giants Philip Morris Co. and R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., as well as industry consulting and public relations firms.

It also aims to halt the marketing of cigarettes to teen-agers throug\h ``Joe Camel'' and other industry campaigns.

``We are filing suit to protect the rights of Florida taxpayers and to protect future generations from falling victim to tobacco's cycle of death,'' Chiles said in a statement several hours before the lawsuit was filed in Palm Beach County Circuit Court.

The action was expected, and tobacco companies and business groups said they would seek to repeal a state law passed last year that makes it easier for the state to win such a suit.

The law allows courts to impose judgments against tobacco companies based on their market share, not their percentage of fault, and allows the use of statistical evidence to prove the state's claims. It also removes the companies' major defense, that some of the blame for health problems falls on the smoker.

The tobacco companies and business groups already have filed a lawsuit in state court seeking to overturn the law. On Monday, they asked the Florida Supreme Court to stop the state from pursuing its lawsuit.

Jon Shebel, president of Associated Industries of Florida, said the law could expose almost any industry to a lawsuit. He said private lawyers stand to gain the most from a suit, because they could receive up to 30 percent of any award.

``We're not here to engage in the debate over whether cigarette smoking is harmful to you or not,'' Shebel said at a news conference after the governor's announcement. ``We're here to engage in a debate over whether trial lawyers will continue to pass laws that enrich them.''

At least 13 private lawyers are handling most of the lawsuit for the state and will receive a 25 percent contingency fee if they win, the governor's general counsel said.

by CNB